Ethereum Co-Founder Selling These Meme Coins To Help Tornado Cash Developers

As a seasoned crypto investor with over a decade of experience in this dynamic and evolving market, I find myself both intrigued and slightly amused by the latest developments involving Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s moves. The news of him offloading meme coins like MOODENG and NEIRO, and subsequently donating the proceeds to the “Free Alexey & Roman” campaign, is indeed noteworthy.


According to recent information from blockchain data, Vitalik Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum, has sold some popular meme coins such as MOODENG and NEIRO from his personal collection. Instead, he converted these meme coins into Ethereum (ETH) and then donated all the earnings to the “Free Alexey & Roman” campaign. This initiative aims to provide support for the two developers of Tornado Cash who are now incarcerated.

Ethereum Co-Founders Vitalik Buterin Swaps Meme Coins

The latest on-chain data shows that Vitalik Buterin sold some of the recently popular meme coins like MOODENG, DEGEN, NEIRO and KOBASU. Last week, the NEIRO price surged by 215% amid strong whale activity registered by the meme coin. It is already up by a staggering 1685% on a monthly chart.

Just like MOODENG, it has been one of the standout meme tokens in recent times and is currently priced around $0.15. In September alone, the price of MOODENG skyrocketed to $0.35 during a massive bullish trend. According to CoinGape, a trader made a staggering $12.4 million profit over 17 days with an initial investment of merely $1,300. Even at its current price, MOODENG on the Solana network is showing a whopping 350% growth in the past month. Below you’ll find a list of the top meme coins for the year 2024.

According to data provider SpotonChain, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin traded a substantial amount of his meme coin assets for approximately 140.7 Ethereum (ETH) tokens. Additionally, as part of a related action, Buterin gifted 100 ETH (valued at around $242,000) to the “Free Alexey & Roman” campaign, an initiative aimed at supporting the legal defense of TornadoCash developers Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm.

At present, the creators of the privacy-centric digital currency mixing service, Tornado Cash, are preparing for a court trial scheduled for December in the District Court of New York. They are currently dealing with legal proceedings due to their involvement in the development of this cryptocurrency.

In the last half hour, Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin) exchanged approximately $341,000 worth of meme-coins including #MOODENG, $DEGEN, $NEIRO, $KABOSU, and stablecoin $USDT for 140.67 Ether (ETH).
Meanwhile, he additionally transferred 100 ETH (approximately $242,000) to the “Free Alexey and Roman” initiative, lending his support to their legal endeavors.
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) October 5, 2024

Tornado Cash Involved in Money Laundering?

The latest findings from Certik indicate that hackers have been exploiting Tornado Cash for numerous high-profile money laundering operations throughout the third quarter of 2024. Initially designed to provide enhanced privacy by anonymizing transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, Tornado Cash has unfortunately turned into a preferred platform for criminals seeking to launder their illicit gains.

#CertiKInsight

In the third quarter of 2024, Tornado Cash was the lone technique employed in 30 out of 156 instances we tracked, representing approximately $287 million worth of misappropriated funds.

In 66 of the incidents stolen funds have yet to be laundered or returned.

— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) October 4, 2024

Nevertheless, seasoned crypto figures such as Ethereum’s co-creator Vitalik Buterin have endorsed the adoption of privacy tools for cryptocurrencies to safeguard their holdings. Previously, he has criticized the illegal detainment of Tornado Cash developers. Moreover, this is not a new action on Buterin’s part as he has also contributed significantly to the “Free Alexey & Roman” cause. In fact, in May this year alone, he donated more than $100,000.

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2024-10-05 15:49